The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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This animation is made up of two images of Europe at night showing lights from sources in cities and along roads in 1992 and 2010. Bright areas highly correlate with high population density – such as the densely populated cities like London, Paris and Rome. Coastal areas are also more populated than inland regions, making the outline of Europe clearly visible in these night images.
The images were acquired by the United States’ DMSP satellites.
The DMSP satellites are run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, monitoring the meteorological, oceanographic and solar–terrestrial physics environments for the US Department of Defense. Data from DMSP’s Operational Linescan System can be used to see city lights.